I took the road up to Leh last days in October in 2010 , and the road was open until just before I left , four weeks later ( http://korta.nu/bluebag )

This is not something you can count on though : I had to wait three days in Manali before the road was cleared from heavy snowfall , and one daytripper that tried to walk down from Rohtang died from hypothermia. This time I brought a shovel as well on top of the other winter gear.

Death , dhabas & dates

Originally Posted by dheerajsharma14I guess now you might have got the high end risk you will run into if you plan to visit Manali - Leh in October - Novemeber.

Agree on the conclusion , but the description of the winter conditions needs some clarifications :

* food and accommodation : the tents dhabas are generally open well in to October . I had my first long awaited butter tea on October 28th last year in Pang . Sarchu was also running , but not Gold Drop and the other high end places.

* Public transport : HRTC buses are not mentioned , and run most of the open period . You┤ll see it running in front of our minibus here on the same trip , continued running at least three weeks later.

* Climate : "at night almost sub-zero temperatures..(beyond Darcha)" This is more like Leh in early September. A thousand meters higher , like in Pang : a lot colder. ( Daytime on the other hand is a lot warmer than generally believed, you need the hat foremost as a protection against the sun )

* the safe date thing : I know this is not described as an on/off condition , but this needs to said : weather changes both gradually and suddenly , and September can mean real problems as well . In 2009 the road was out two or three times before mid -September, and mid-September 2008 meant among other things eight people killed in an avalanche on the road. More examples could be mentioned. The practical approach : keep track of updates on the road conditions, always plan at least a buffer day before mid-September , and two later in the season.

Thanks a ton Vistet for clarifications. I will surely update the examples and other things in the article with your mention and link back to your blog and IM as refernces. I really appreciate it. I understand that food and acco. are running but becomes limited too, HRTC buses is not mentioned as I see majority of domestic tourist prefer mostly the private taxis, self drive/ride, HPTDC buses. But you are right that I must mention all the available modes even that time.

Leh at 3500 meters goes subzero at night in September , at 4000+ locations like The Vomit Hilton (4253) and Pang (4510 ) nights over zero is a narrow window in time.And yes , it┤s all metric ... no quintals , bushels or Fahrenheit. Days are a lot warmer in the sun than commonly believed , see this photo. Above freezing point in Leh in to December.

Guest houses starts as families taking in paying guests , then adding rooms ... the family still remain , and opening the guest house involves knocking on the door. As guesthouses grow they start to shunt guests to eating separately , out of season you start to eat with the family again.